Hybrid Closure For Containers

ABSTRACT

A closure for a mouth of a container includes a handle portion and a contoured portion. The contoured portion is sized and dimensioned to seat within the mouth of the container, and may be configured such that a rotation of less than 720 degrees is required to seat the stopper within the container&#39;s mouth. The closure can be composed of biodegradable materials.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority and herein incorporates by referenceU.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/171221, filed Apr. 21,2009.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The field of the invention is closures.

BACKGROUND

Plastic tubular containers closures are ubiquitous (widely known) inconsumer goods and products. Unfortunately, because plastics typicallyhave an extremely slow rate of decomposition, such plastics must beeither recycled through costly industrial processes, or otherwise leftto be tossed into landfills where they will remain for centuries.

In an attempt to provide a more degradable closure, the use of plasticssuch as polylactic acid polymers (PLA) have become more commonplace.However, such plastics still require specialized processes andfacilities for degradation, which requires significant costs for itsdecomposition. In addition, PLA and similar plastics are visiblyindistinguishable from normal plastics. This can be problematic becauseif the PLA is inadvertently placed within a group of traditionalplastics to be recycled, the PLA can taint the entire recycling process.

It is known to use natural materials such as cork to make closures, suchas for wine bottles. However, such closures are typically designed as aplug, and are unable to be replaced within the bottle or other containeronce removed. Similarly, WIPO Publication No. 2007/140538 to Henderson,et al. (publ. Dec. 2007) discusses a biodegradable closure for acontainer that can take the form of a plug, a membrane, or a seal.However, like the cork for a wine bottle, the Henderson closure cantypically not reseal the container once removed. This and all otherextrinsic materials discussed herein are incorporated by reference intheir entirety. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporatedreference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that termprovided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies andthe definition of that term in the reference does not apply.

Thus, there is still a need for a biodegradable closure that can be usedto reseal a container when the container is not in use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The inventive subject matter provides apparatus, systems and methods inwhich a closure for a mouth of a container comprises a stopper.Preferred stoppers include a handle portion and a contoured portion thatis sized and dimensioned to seat within the container's mouth. Whilepreferably the handle and contoured portions compose a single contiguouspiece, it is also contemplated that the stoppers could includeintermediary or other portions.

Preferred stoppers have a contoured portion configured to require arotation of less than 720 degrees (e.g., two complete rotations), andmore preferably less than 360 degrees (e.g., one rotation), to seat thestopper within the mouth of the container. Especially preferred stoppershave a contoured portion configured to require a rotation of less than120 degrees (e.g., one-third of a rotation) to seat the stopper withinthe mouth of the container.

Unless the context dictates the contrary, all ranges set forth hereinshould be interpreted as being inclusive of their endpoints andopen-ended ranges should be interpreted to include only commerciallypractical values. Similarly, all lists of values should be considered asinclusive of intermediate values unless the context indicates thecontrary.

Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the inventivesubject matter will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanyingdrawing figures in which like numerals represent like components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIGS. 1-2 are perspective views of one embodiment of a stopper.

FIGS. 3-4 are front and side perspective views, respectively, of anotherembodiment of a stopper.

FIGS. 5-6 are bottom and top perspective views, respectively, of yetanother embodiment of a stopper.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a container.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a container with a stopper.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In FIGS. 1A-1B, closure 100 is shown that has a handle portion 120 and acontoured portion 130 that is preferably sized and dimensioned to seatwithin the mouth of a container (shown in FIG. 4). Thus, for example,the container's mouth would likely be sized and dimensioned to mate withthe contoured portion 130. Although the handle portion 120 and thecontoured portion 130 are shown comprising a single contiguous piece, itis also contemplated that the stopper 100 could include intermediary orother portions.

Although the stopper 100 can be composed of any commercially suitablematerial(s), the stopper 100 is preferably composed of paper or otherbiodegradable materials. As used herein, the term “biodegradable” isdefined as a material that will break down and decompose into elementsfound in nature in a period of time less than six months. Exemplarymaterials include woods, corks, papers, plant fibers, cellulose,cellophanes, biodegradable adhesives and glazes, and any combinationsthereof. This is advantageous as it allows the stopper 100 to belight-weight while retaining durability, and further allows the stopperto be decomposed into naturally occurring elements when no longerneeded. Preferably, stopper 100 is water resistant, such as by theaddition of a binder and wax, processed cellulose or protein, or otherwater-resistant material, or through the addition of a commerciallysuitable substance prior to forming the stopper 100. In addition, thestopper 100 can be resistant to other liquids including, for example,oils and chemicals, such as by the addition of one or more of thematerials discussed above, other commercially suitable substance(s) orcombination(s) thereof.

The handle portion 120 can have a variable cross-section, and morepreferably an enlarged end as best shown in FIG. 1B. This isadvantageous as the enlarged handle portion 120 provides additionalsurface area for a user to grip. Contemplated cross-sections for thehandle portion 120 include angular and/or non-angular perimeters,although all shapes and sizes are contemplated for the cross-section ofthe handle portion including a fixed cross-section. Preferably, thehandle portion 120 has a perimeter length of between 1 inch and 6inches.

The contoured portion 130 can be of any commercially suitable size andshape. Preferably, the contoured portion 130 includes a tapered portionand/or contours 140 sized and dimensioned to the internal configurationof the container's mouth (not shown). As used herein, the term“contours” is defined as one or more curves, twists, or spirals about atleast part of the circumference of the portion, but specificallyexcludes a threaded portion such as on a screw. The contours 140 createhigh and low areas about the surface of the contoured portion 130 thatpreferably match the contours of the container's mouth. This isadvantageous as it allows the stopper 100 to be firmly seated within thecontainer's mouth with limited rotation. As used herein, the term “seat”is defined as the position of the stopper within the mouth of thecontainer, in which the stopper is firmly positioned within the mouth tocreate a seal that prevents fluids or other substances from escapingfrom the container. In this instance, and where other upper limits arenot expressly stated, the reader should infer a reasonable upper limit.In this instance, for example, a commercially reasonable upper limit isabout twenty.

It is preferred that a rotation of less than 720 degrees is required toseat the contoured portion 130 within the container's mouth. Preferably,a rotation of less than 360 degrees, and more preferably, less than 120degrees, is required. Most preferably, a rotation of less than 50degrees is required to fully seat the contoured portion 130 of stopper100 within the container's mouth (as shown in FIG. 5). Thisadvantageously provides an easily removable, yet sufficiently strongseal for the bottle.

Each of the handle portion 120 and contoured portion 130 can havesubstantially flat ends to allow the stopper 100 to remain upright whenplaced on a flat surface. However, the stopper could alternativelyinclude one or more curved or otherwise non-planar ends.

An alternate embodiment of a stopper 200 is shown in FIGS. 2A-2B thatincludes a handle portion 220 and a contoured portion 230. The contouredportion can include tapered or contoured areas 240, 242, and 244 sizedand dimensioned to mate with the interior of the container's mouth (notshown). With respect to the remaining numerals in each of FIGS. 2A-2B,the same considerations for like components with like numerals of FIG. 1apply.

FIGS. 3A-3B illustrate another embodiment of a stopper 300 having anenlarged handle portion 320. The stopper 300 also includes a contouredportion having contours 240, 242, and 244. With respect to the remainingnumerals in each of FIGS. 3A-3B, the same considerations for likecomponents with like numerals of FIG. 1 apply.

A container 400 is shown in FIG. 4 that has a mouth 410 into which astopper (not shown) can be inserted. All commercially suitablecontainers are contemplated including, for example, bottles, cans, jars,and so forth. FIG. 5 shows a container 500 having a stopper 510 that isinserted into the container 500.

It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that many moremodifications besides those already described are possible withoutdeparting from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subjectmatter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of theappended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification andthe claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possiblemanner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms “comprises”and “comprising” should be interpreted as referring to elements,components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that thereferenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized,or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are notexpressly referenced. Where the specification claims refers to at leastone of something selected from the group consisting of A, B, C . . . andN, the text should be interpreted as requiring only one element from thegroup, not A plus N, or B plus N, etc.

1. A closure for a mouth of a container, comprising: a stopper having(a) a handle portion and (b) a contoured portion sized and dimensionedto seat within the mouth of the container; and wherein the contouredportion is configured to require a rotation of less than 720 degrees toseat the stopper within the mouth of the container.
 2. The closure ofclaim 1, wherein the contoured portion of the stopper is configured torequire a rotation of less than 360 degrees to seat the stopper withinthe mouth of the container.
 3. The closure of claim 1, wherein thecontoured portion of the stopper is configured to require a rotation ofless than 120 degrees to seat the stopper within the mouth of thecontainer.
 4. The closure of claim 1, wherein the handle portioncomprises a variable cross-section.
 5. The closure of claim 1, whereinthe contoured portion and the handle portion are biodegradable.
 6. Theclosure of claim 1, wherein the contoured portion and the handle portionare resistant to liquids.
 7. The closure of claim 6, wherein thecontoured portion and the handle portion are water resistant.
 8. Theclosure of claim 1, wherein the handle portion has a perimeter length ofbetween 1 inch and 6 inches.